I’ve seen most of Sam Peckinpah’s films and those films are some of my favorite pieces of cinema. Peckinpah was known for his use of excessive brutal violence in his work, especially in films like The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs. Those were masterpieces that only Sam could deliver. Sam was a crazy guy, who had many sides to his personality, he was a drunk and a druggie, but he was an artist as well. I actually think Sam’s own self destructive nature fueled his creativity. He lived on the edge, not many people could hang with him. He was like the Jim Morrison of film.
Many of his films deal with man’s true nature, the animal side. How men in particular deal with jealousy as well as honor and loyalty is a big element of his stories. If you watch his films you’ll see what I mean.
Sam was one of those directors that really burned bright for a little while then burnt out. The work he did in the 60s and 70s is spectacular. He was a true visionary of cinema, he inspired so many directors too. From John Woo to our own Quentin Tarantino.
Some of my favorite Sam Peckinpah films: Ride The High Country, Major Dundee, The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs, The Getaway, Junior Bonner, Convoy, Cross of Iron, Bring me The Head of Alfredo Garcia. If you havent seen his films, get them and see cinema at its best.
STRAW DOGS (Criterion) just came out yesterday!
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And I’m still awaiting a special edition for WILD BUNCH…
The getaway was very good. Madsen kicks ass.
[quote]The getaway was very good. Madsen kicks ass.
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im pretty sure the one with Madsen was a remake of Peckinpah’s…unless you knew that already and was referring to that one
I was refering about the movie “the getaway” with madsen. I didnt know it was a remake…tell me more about it.
personally, I like the review more. the Original was too boring in my opinion, although it had more style. but the lack of soundtrack and all, i dont know how to explain, but it was too boring.
the remake had more action, better visuals and a raunchy love scene with kim basinger.
How can you pick Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger over Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw? Are you nuts?!
Sam Peckinpah’s original version kicks ass! Its one of his best films too. The remake wasnt bad, but I’ll take Sam’s version over it anytime.
Boring? What the hell? It wasnt boring to me at all. I thought the pace was perfect. I love the shoot out at the hotel too, that was awesome!
Sam Peckinpah basically made the greatest western of all time with the wild bunch. He made a great action film with the getaway. Sam Peckinpah was the Tarantino of his era.
I didn’t like very much THE WILD BUNCH. I’ve got CROSS OF IRON in DVD, it’s a good war film, but not my favorite, also for THE GETAWAY. My favorite Peckinpah movie is STRAW DOGS with the great Dustin Hoffman. The rape scene has inspired French film-director Gaspard Noë for his recent scandalous film: IRREVERSABLE (by the way, this one is not a great film).
I’m sorry to say that I didn’t like CONVOY at all.
Peckinpah mixed fast scenes with normal scenes, and I think itwas very brilliant, very ingenious. At the time, someone invented the pocket of blood that you can doing exploding when you want for giving the sensation of a real shoot. And Peckinpah wanted to show that in a slowly motion. lol  ;D
yeha he wanted to show the bullets entering the body in such detail.
Those blood pockets are called “squibs”. You can also see them used to a great extent in The Godfather when Sonny (James Caan) is gunned down at the toll booths.
Peckinpah also utilized slow motion to create a balletic visceral look to the violence in his films. Filmmakers like John Woo owe alot to Peckinpah in that sense.
Romain, you didnt like THE WILD BUNCH? Thats Peckinpah’s western masterpiece. Your the first person I’ve met thats said they didnt like it.
Don’t forget PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID with that Bob Dylan soundtrack! Great film right there.
Probably the most thing that I like about that film is that Peckinpah casted actors who appeared in the harmless, cowboy films of the early era such as Slim Pickens,Jack Elam, and Chill Wills. And threw them into a mix of a new American Western…The violent Western.
It was (IMO) Sam’s way of saying that times are changing and that Gene Autry or Gary Cooper aren’t the type of guys to save the day. Instead, It would be the anti-hero robbing a bank.
[quote]Romain, you didnt like THE WILD BUNCH? Thats Peckinpah’s western masterpiece. Your the first person I’ve met thats said they didnt like it.[/quote]
Sorry. 
I don’t like it very much, it’s not my favorite.
the remake of the getaway was just stupid
I cant wait to see the Italian Job butchered
watched the Wild Bunch yesterday and was pretty disappointed actually
Yeah, Peckinpah directed some cool films. STRAW DOGS is an absolute masterpiece, THE GETAWAY one of the finest classic action films and BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA too. THE WILD BUNCH was a bit disappointing for me, I don’t liked it because it never choose its way: US or Spaghetti western. Seemed a bit far away. But the rest of Peckinpah’s work is really good.
[quote]watched the Wild Bunch yesterday and was pretty disappointed actually[/quote]
Why ?
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Why ?
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i dont know. it wasnt really an old-school western and not really a mexicanrevolution-western either. the music was nothing special, the cinematography was somehow below standard and i dont know, it just didnt feel like anything special. the violence was hard for a film of that age, and the final scene where they walk up to the final confrontation was something what wrote movie history i guess, but i dont know, the film just didnt hit me. i am maybe just not that much of a fan of peckinpah’s style. i thought the getaway was very cool but also a bit “dry”… i mean, i like all his movies so far, but they are not “wow that was fucking awesome” movies
Well I saw Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia the other day and i was terribly disappointed. There was nothing special about it.
I was also watching The Wild Bunch in the Summer holidays and watched most of it but got interrupted towards the end so i don’t know what happened. From what I saw of it, it was pretty good and interesting although again, nothing special.
You guys are crazy. The Wild Bunch is one of the top 5 westerns of all time.